


A Malone Goes to College

by dianesmalone



Category: Cheers
Genre: Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 17:47:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19256119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dianesmalone/pseuds/dianesmalone
Summary: Diane and Sam’s eldest daughter, Elizabeth is finally going off to college. It’s a lot for both of them to handle, but mostly for Diane. This is set in 2008.





	A Malone Goes to College

“Mom please!” Elizabeth whines as Diane snaps another picture of her.

The whole family and a few friends had gathered outside of their home to send off Elizabeth to college. Sam and Diane still had some time with her since they were helping her move in but her siblings and friends wouldn’t be seeing her again until Thanksgiving.

Currently, Diane was taking as many pictures as possible before she left. She couldn’t believe her eldest was already off to college. 

“Okay Ernie get up there with your sister. I need a picture of the two of you” Diane insists. 

Ernie was quite the mama’s boy so he complied with no questions asked. The two stand together and she snaps a picture. “Oh.. you two are so precious. I love you both so much” Diane gushes. 

“We love you too mom” the siblings say in unison. 

Once Ernie has stepped back off to the side, Diane turns to Sam. “Okay you get up there with her next.”

Sam complies as well. He knew that Diane was not handling this well. That she was excited for her little girl to finally be all grown up but at the same time sad that she wasn’t so little anymore. 

After the picture with Sam is taken, he walks up to her and takes the camera. “It’s your turn, get up there” he insists. 

Diane smiles and joins her daughter’s side. Her arm goes around Elizabeth’s waist and the pair smile. 

Sam smiles as well as he takes the picture. The pair were basically twins. Elizabeth had the same golden blonde hair as Diane and nearly the same facial features except for her eye color which was identical to Sam’s. Not to mention Diane and Elizabeth shared the same personality traits: both witty and intelligent. Both always had their nose in a book. 

Though Elizabeth shared some of her fathers qualities as well and not just his eye color. They had the same ears and the same laugh. They bonded over their love for sailing. Elizabeth even enjoyed going to various sports games with him. 

However when it came down to it, she was her mother through and through. If Sam was honest, he didn’t mind. They were both bright lights in a dark world. 

Diane turns to Elizabeth when their photo is done and cups her cheeks. “I’m so proud of you and everything you’ve done. No matter what you’ll always be my princess. I love you.”

She could feel the tears forming in her eyes but holds them in. Diane didn’t want to be even more of an embarrassment than she had already been for her daughter. 

Elizabeth gives a big smile and hugs her mom close, “I love you too mom. Thank you for being the best mom a girl could ever want. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Those words make Diane fill with even more love than she already had built up. When the two break she quickly wipes her now teary eyes, “I’m sorry I’m sorry. I’m just so proud of you and watching you grow up into the beautiful young woman you are today makes me overjoyed.”

Diane steps back and feels Sam slide his arms around her. She immediately melts into his embrace and watches as Elizabeth goes around hugging her siblings and their friends.

Sam presses a kiss to his wife’s head and quietly whispers that he loves her. That makes her feel a bit better. 

He smiles as he watches Elizabeth hug Woody and Kelly, thanking them for being a wonderful uncle and aunt. She also thanks Lilith for being like a second mom to her. Even Carla gets a thank you for being the greatest fun aunt Elizabeth could’ve asked for. 

It made Sam happy knowing that they all took part in his children’s lives. They had been there since the day Elizabeth was born and had helped take care of her along the way. They were doing the same for their other three children as well. He was grateful for that. 

Diane was grateful too, having Woody, Kelly, Lilith, and Carla all part of their children’s lives was all she could want. They were all like family to her although Carla was slightly questionable. She knew Carla mostly did it for Sam and still didn’t like her. Nonetheless is made her soul happy knowing they all cared for her family and she cared for theirs.

After saying goodbye to her siblings, Elizabeth walks over to her parents. “Dad. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I promise the second I’m home and it’s warm enough we’ll go sailing together. Please don’t drive mom too crazy okay?”

The pair chuckle and Sam pulls away from Diane. “Well that last part I can’t make any promises on” he jokes. 

He then pulls his daughter into his arms and gives her a big hug. “Have a good time at NYU. Be safe, but most importantly have fun. Enjoy causing trouble but please don’t get kicked out” Sam jokes again. 

Diane pushes at her husband, “Sam!” 

“What? I’m only kidding” he smiles.

“I think what your father was trying to say is enjoy yourself. We know you’ll have an exquisite time. We love you” Diane adds.

Elizabeth smiles and hugs each of her parents individually. “I love you both. I’ll see you later tonight to help me unpack right?” She questions.

Diane nods, “seven on the dot” she assures.

She nods at that and then walks over to the drivers side of her car. “Goodbye everyone! Thank you so much for coming to see me off! I’ll see you all very soon!” Elizabeth exclaims and slides into her car.

Everyone turns and watches as she backs out of the driveway and begins to drive away. Diane’s eyes fill with tears and she finally lets them fall. She had so many worries running through her mind. Mostly, her tears were of joy. She was very proud of Elizabeth and all that she was going to do. 

After Elizabeth disappears into the distance, Woody offers to take the kids out for dinner. Diane and Sam agree to that but Diane doesn’t let them go without giving each of them a giant hug and kiss. 

Woody, Kelly, and their three other children head off for dinner and the couple walks back into their home. Diane closes the door behind them and stands there for a moment. Their home felt a little less full now that Elizabeth had gone. 

Sam was about to walk off toward their kitchen when he notices Diane hasn’t moved. “Sweetheart? You alright?”

She looks up at him, tears streaming down her cheeks again. “Not really.” 

Diane then walks over to him and wraps her as around his waist. She really needed his comfort right now. 

“Oh don’t cry sweetheart. It’ll be okay, she’ll be back before we know it. Besides we’ll be seeing her tonight” Sam assures.

He then reaches up with one hand and wipes away her tears. Sam always did hate when she cried but he knew she’d be okay. 

The blonde nods, “Sam I want another baby” she sniffles. 

His eyebrows raise, “Another? Sweetheart we have four. Our oldest is nineteen and our youngest is twelve. That would be a pretty big age gap” he points out.

Diane considers for a moment, “oh you’re right. I’m sorry I’m just overwhelmed with so many emotions. I miss when they were all so small and it felt like growing up was so far away” she sighs. 

Diane knew they were lucky to be blessed with four beautiful children. Elizabeth was nineteen now headed off to New York University. Ernie was seventeen and would be starting his senior year of high school soon. Another baby leaving the nest. Though they still had their two youngest: Jane and Theodore. Jane was fifteen and about to start her sophomore year of high school. Theodore was fourteen, bound to start high school soon. 

Perhaps that was part of the reason why she felt it was all coming so quickly. With Elizabeth gone and Ernie about to begin his final year, it felt like it would only be a matter of time until their home was empty. Diane didn’t even want to think about that. 

Sam leans down and gently kisses her forehead. “What if... and I can’t believe I’m saying this... but what if we get another cat? Would that make you feel better dear?” He questions. 

She suddenly perks up and looks up at him with a new light in her eyes. “Oh you really mean it?”

He smiles when he sees the excitement on her face. There was nothing better than seeing her happy. “Yes but you better agree to this quickly before I change my mind” he teases.

Diane nods, “yes! Mr. Whiskers can finally have a sibling!” She squeals happily. 

Sam chuckles as she begins to jump up and down with joy. Anything he could do to make her happy, he’d do it in a heartbeat. 

When Diane stops jumping she grabs Sam’s face and kisses his lips over and over. “Oh I love you so much” she says between kisses. 

“I love you too sweetheart” he murmurs and rests his forehead against hers after the kissing ceases. 

Diane brings her arms around his neck and slowly lets out a breath. It was difficult watching her little girl drive off and finally step into adulthood but she knew all would be fine. They would see Elizabeth tonight and after that, in a couple of months. Besides Diane was blessed with three other children, friends who were basically her family, and the best husband in the world. What more could she want?

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! This one is a bit different but I really wanted to write a one shot that involved Sam and Diane with children in some way. I really hope you liked this one! Also, what do you think on their kids names? I already established Elizabeth and Ernie as two of their kids names when I started writing one shots but then I decided to add two more: Jane and Theodore. Both sound like something Diane came up with and Sam agreed to because they were they least uptight sounding names. Anyway anyway, thank you for reading! As always kudos/comments are welcome!


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